Mocking Trump Is Now a Deportable Offense

On July 28, English punk band Peter and the Test Tube Babies was flying out to California, planning on performing at the Punk Invasion festival the next day. Peter never made it to Santa Ana to do that, as he got stopped at the border to be questioned about a previous performance that took place in Germany. During this performance, lead singer Peter Bywaters was dressed as Donald Trump and mocking him onstage. Bywaters claims that border patrol took him in for six hours of questioning before forcibly escorting him to the plane back home.

Peter Bywaters was deported for making fun of Trump.

This sort of behavior that we see here is an exhibition of someone restricting freedom of speech. Of course, there is a line to draw when it comes to freedom of speech in order to ensure national security, but is that line really being drawn at mocking the president? Surely people are allowed their individual opinions in this matter. This is something never seen before in the United States of America. Even under the power of some of America’s most infamous presidents, nothing like this has happened. Let’s be clear. Peter Bywaters is a white Englishman. He’s not even at the top of Trump’s priorities. He still got deported.

Peter Bywaters @TestTubes is a white Englishman. He’s not even the top of Trump’s priorities. He still got deported.

What does this mean? It means that the United States of America is diving deeper into the fascist state many had feared it would become. It means no one is safe. You could come from any background, but if you make fun of the man in the oval office, people will notice and there will be repercussions. Is it helpful that Bywaters has some notoriety? Probably, but that brings up the next question: Where will they go from here? What does this mean for the future of America?

No one can predict what Trump is going to do next, and that is frightening.